PLANO, Texas -- Four of America's favorite local dishes are about to take center stage in the potato chip aisle. Out of millions of submissions from fans across America, Lay's has announced the four finalist flavors competing for a $1 million grand prize in the Lay's "Do Us A Flavor" contest: Lay's Wavy West Coast Truffle Fries, Lay's Southern Biscuits & Gravy, Lay's New York Reuben and Lay's Kettle Cooked Greektown Gyro flavored potato chips.
Representing four of the most flavorful cities and towns across the country, these four finalist flavors are set to make their debut on store shelves nationwide later this month with consumer votes determining the grand prize winner.
In alphabetical order by last name, the finalists are:
*Lay's Wavy West Coast Truffle Fries: Angie Fu, from Irvine, Calif., has had a passion for food and discovering local flavors from an early age. She very nearly went into culinary school, but instead opted to keep her love of flavor a hobby. When Angie is home, she is constantly in her kitchen, trying her hand at new dishes and sauces. But when Angie goes out to eat, she can't say no to truffle fries, even seeking out restaurants in the area that put their own local twist on her favorite side.
*Lay's Southern Biscuits & Gravy: As a travel agent from Noblesville, Ind., Hailey Green has many opportunities to sample local flavors when exploring a new city. She has a great appreciation for each locale's "homemade style," because it reminds her of her own childhood, filled with memories of eating southern food in her grandmother's kitchen. One of Hailey's favorite dishes is biscuits and gravy—a recipe that was handed down in her family generation after generation.
*Lay's New York Reuben: Jeff Solensky helps manage a local restaurant in DuBois, Penn., where he pursues his true passion in life—food. Growing up in Long Island, N.Y., Jeff has fond memories of traveling into Manhattan to enjoy Broadway shows with his mother. A big part of that tradition was stopping by popular New York delis beforehand to enjoy a Reuben. *Lay's Kettle Cooked Greektown Gyro: James Wagner has been in the Air Force for more than 18 years, traveling the country and abroad and discovering local tastes at each stop on his journey. While abroad, James discovered his fondness for Greek cuisine, so when he moved to Wichita Falls, Texas, he immediately sought out the closest gyro restaurant.
The four finalists learned they were contest finalists when TV personality and recording artist Nick Lachey surprised them at their doorsteps with the news.
From July 27 through October 18, consumers can vote once per day per person, device and platform for their favorite finalist flavor on www.DoUsAFlavor.com; via Twitter and Instagram using the hashtags #VoteTruffleFries, #VoteBiscuits, #VoteReuben, or #VoteGyro; and/or via text message by texting "VoteTruffleFries," "VoteBiscuits," "VoteReuben," or "VoteGyro" to 24477 (CHIPS).
Lay's will reveal the winning flavor this October, and it will remain on store shelves following the completion of the contest.
In July 2012, the Lay's brand launched its first "Do Us A Flavor" contest in the United States, which resulted in Lay's Cheesy Garlic Bread submitted by Karen Weber-Mendham, a children's librarian from Land O'Lakes, Wis., being selected as the first million-dollar winner. The contest returned for a second time in January 2014 with Lay's Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger, submitted by Meneko Spigner McBeth of Deptford, N.J., crowned the winner.
As part of this year's contest, a judging panel made up of chefs, foodies and flavor experts narrowed down the contest submissions to four finalist flavors. The three runner-up finalists will each win $50,000 in prize money, with the grand prize winner taking home $1 million or 1% of their flavor's net sales through July 15, 2016 (whichever is higher).
Lay's is one of the billion-dollar brands that makes up Plano, Texas-based Frito-Lay North America, the $14 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo Inc., Purchase, N.Y. PepsiCo generated more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2014, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana.
More details and official contest rules are available at www.DoUsAFlavor.com.
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